Spiffy:

Iffy:

Too soon to see how the controls compare to other tennis games; haven't seen online in action.

Hypnotix (not to be confused with the fashionable liquor Hypnotiq) has had strong success at offering an alternative to traditional sports games. With a crazy cast of characters, colorful environments, interesting use of fighting, and some of the funniest commentary in gaming, its Outlaw series of sports games has been quite popular. The developer has tackled golf greens and volleyball courts. Now it has its sights set on conquering the tennis courts in Outlaw Tennis. The game's publisher recently stopped by to give me quick look at the game. Here's the rundown.

Many of the characters you know and love from the other Outlaw games will be in Outlaw Tennis. My personal favorite -- the sexy stripper Summer -- is thankfully in the mix. There are even some brand new players for you to choose from. One of the more interesting characters is a ninja that looks an awful lot like Subzero from Mortal Kombat. I'm not sure what his deal is, but I'm going to give it a guess. My theory is that before Summer entered the glamorous world of exotic dancing, she was an assassin. One of her targets was a young ninja. Unfortunately she killed the wrong one since all ninjas look the same (it's the masks). The brother of the innocent ninja has been tracking Summer for years, but has only found her now in the world of Outlaw Tennis. See, this already makes more sense than most fighting game storylines. Ed Boon should so hire me.

Chinese ninja tennis player, with your heart so cold.

The game controls similarly to Topspin. Each face button corresponds to a certain type of shot (flat, topspin, slice, and lob), while the shoulder buttons are used for modifiers. I wasn't allowed to play that game at this time, so I don't know if it feels comparable to Topspin. On paper it should control the same, but hopefully feel faster than Microsoft's game.

Each character has a number of attributes you can advance. These include accuracy, lob, speed, power, endurance, control, and serve. You can boost each attribute to a certain point. Each player has natural caps so as to differentiate their play styles. There are several minigames you can play in order to raise each stat. Some have you destroying certain targets, while others have you hitting on certain color balls. The minis provide a nice break from the full game types.

Speaking of which, there are a large number of games for you to partake in. There are quick play, exhibition, tour, drills, and Internet modes. You can choose from classic, hot potato, casino, pinball, ping pong, baseball, and football games. Each puts a new spin (tee-hee) on the standard pong formula of tennis games. In addition to mixing up the gameplay, the various modes add different challenges and require more strategic thinking. Up to four players can play the game online and offline. The online modes were not demonstrated during my demo, but the publisher promises a diverse array of Internet offerings.